No Connecticut politicians planning to skip inauguration

Published 1:50 pm, Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Donald Trump speaks at an August 2016 rally at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

Donald Trump speaks at an August 2016 rally at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

Photo: Christine Stuart — CT News Junkie

No Connecticut politicians planning to skip inauguration

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Although the number of members of Congress boycotting the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump is growing, no Connecticut politicians are planning to skip the event.

As of Tuesday morning, the number of Democratic members of Congress saying they will boycott Trump’s inauguration this Friday had increased to nearly four dozen.

U.S. Reps. John Larson, Jim Himes, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro and Elizabeth Esty will attend the inauguration. U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy will also attend.

“While I respect different decisions made by others, I will attend the inauguration out of respect for our nation’s peaceful transition of power and as part of my official duties,” Blumenthal said Monday.

Many who aren’t attending have have cited Trump’s Twitter attack last Friday against Georgia Congressman John Lewis.

Lewis, in an interview last week said he didn’t consider Trump to be a “legitimate president,’’ stating he felt that way because of evidence that the Russians used hacking techniques to influence the presidential election.

Trump responded to Lewis’ comments by tweeting that Lewis was “All talk, talk, talk, - no action or results.”

Lewis a prominent member of the America’s civil rights movement is considered a hero to many African-Americans. He was among those beaten by police during the Selma-Montgomery voting rights march of 1965.

Lewis represents a Georgia congressional district that Trump called “crime-infested.” An allegation which is hard to prove because crime statistics are not collected by congressional district.

The president-elect’s insults, made just days ahead of Martin Luther King Day, were the final straw for a number of Democrats who will break with tradition by boycotting the inauguration ceremony on Friday.